Ruminations and ponderings by the Last of the Montgomery Rebels Fans on the Montgomery Biscuits and Montgomery Alabama area baseball history.

Monday, December 16, 2013

GMan Dealt to Dbax

HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT?
Todd Glaesmann learned a new way to spell his name - PTBNL. He was included in the Heath Bell trade and heads to the Arizona organization where he will join other former Biscuits Mark Thomas and Tyler Bortnick.

Todd had 11 three-hit games with Montgomery in 2013!

It appeared that Gman learned of being included in the deal via twitter on Friday afternoon. He was the Rays minor leaguer of the year in 2012 but had a bit of a down year for the Skitz this past summer - the third round pick of 2009 he hit just .240 with 11 homers.

makin it rain up in here

Gman also has wicked medicine man skills for the making of rain charms and can now help so many people in the desert with his rain making talents.

We all wish Todd the best in the new organization, I'm guessing he will rise to the opportunities in fine form!

INJURED INFIELDERSTim Beckham, former first round pick taken ahead of Buster Posey, has torn his ACL during an offseason workout and will miss significant time in 2014.

Beckham was expected to compete for a bench role in Tampa's spring training, now he will spend most of the season on the DL alongside rehabbing Hak Ju Lee.

DEALIN RUGGIANO
Former Skit OF Justin Ruggiano was dealt from the Marlins to the Chicago Cubs.

In 2006 Justin played about 30 games for Montgomery after coming over from the Dodgers as the PTBNL in the Dionner Navarro-for-Mark Hendrickson swap. He tore it up for us, swatting four homers and 27 rbi with a stout .333 batting average as the Biscuits rolled to their first title!

SIX TIME SKITZ GUY

The 'Naz

Craig Albernaz, diminutive defensive catcher for Montgomery in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 departed the Tampa Rays system for a contract with the Detroit Tigers. He hoped to find a better opportunity for playing time.

He played in just 105 games for Montgomery in six seasons, but warmed up pitchers in about 900 other games! His six different stints with the Biscuits may place him atop the list of service time, with two more seasons than Biscuit stalwart Gabriel Martinez.

REID RELEASEDRyan Reid was DFA'd by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Reid was a seventh round choice in 2006 and played for Montgomery 2008-11, posting a 10w-8L record in about 125 games.

Ryan made his big league debut this past summer with the Pirates, playing in seven games and earning his first MLB save with three innings vs Milwaukee on June 28th.

BILOXI ON HOLD
Some teams in the Southern league are griping about moving the Stars to Biloxi. What was expected to be a formality when the SL owners met to vote at the Winter Meetings must have become a debate and either no vote took place or the move was voted down.

Southern League owners are supposed to meet again before the end of the year, possibly by video conference, and may approve the move then. Or not.

Obviously, some teams have issues with the move or aspects of it. Its a stretch to think that the distance added for three teams, Jackson Tn Generals, Tn Smokies and Chattanooga Lookouts, would derail the move. Those teams may even vote against the deal, its their right to do so, but they alone wouldn't be able to keep the Stars from heading to Biloxi.

Prz Webb oversees rough transaction

WHAT COULD IT BE?
Maybe the Miss Braves griped about not getting a piece of the oil-spill money. Perhaps Jacksonville didn't vote, abstaining to obstruct the move by creating a 4-4 tie.

Maybe Biscuits owner Sherrie Myers voted against it because she didn't like not being informed about it at the league meeting. Could be Birmingham voted against so they would still be the newest park in the league.

Its possible Pensacola voted along with Mobile in an effort to keep a third team out of the area. It can't be going over well with the new league prez, who has MLB looking over her shoulder at her first real leadership test.

NOT SO FAST
Its within the realm of possibility that MLB and SL lawyers are skeptical about having a casino as a landlord. Another concern could be in the fact that it is oil-spill money and if its deemed that this use isnt kosher, the SL would not be happy giving money back.

Its been mentioned that the Stars owner might be trying to keep his team and move them himself, or keep an interest in the team after its moved. Along those lines, the news station in Huntsville has switched from calling it the "sale of the team" to the "relocation of the team" so the ownership may be trying to hold onto their shares.

Which would be terrible, because if we have learned anything from this whole thing, its that the Stars owner is probably closer to being the problem than the solution whether its in Huntsville or Biloxi.